Phoenix
by rukator
Summary: A request fic for Tirithon. Short little fluff oneshot. Rukato, of course.


Disclaimer: Digimon does not belong to me, but to TOEI Animations, Bandai and a number of other corporations. I do not intend to make any kind of profit with this work.

Genre: Romance/Fluff

Couple: Rukato

Rating: K/G/FSK-6

Type: One-Shot

Setting: Fictitious point in time relatively soon after the events of The Runaway Digimon Express a.k.a. Runaway Locomon, i.e. the sixth Digimon movie.

Warnings: None.

Author's Note: More or less a request fic for Tirithon. Originally also a songfic, but I hope it works without the lyrics just as well.

Anyway, enough with the annoying A/Ns- enjoy!

**Phoenix**

Somewhere in the distance, a sparrow was chirping.

Not an elegant way to start a story, you might say, and you're perhaps right. Yet this is a story about love, and love, as cannot be argued, is a story itself which is impossible to confine between "beginning" or "end", anyway. So we might just as well delve into this specific aspect of the story of love with the sound of a chirping sparrow. Said sound was heard by only a few of the millions and millions of people living in the world's biggest city known as Tokyo- among them, however, was a certain redheaded girl named Makino Ruki.

Ruki was sitting on her porch, not paying attention to the animal's chirping- or to anything else around her, for that matter. She was literally lost in her thoughts, the fact notwithstanding that those thoughts seemed to revolve around both nothing and everything simultaneously.

Her current feelings were much more important than her trains of thoughts, anyway, even though she wasn't fully aware of it just yet.

"What are you thinking about?"

Renamon's melodious voice shared the sparrow's chirping's destiny, for it, too, didn't really reach the girl sitting on the wooden floor with her arms tightly wrapped around her knees. So, Renamon gently placed her right paw on Ruki's shoulder, which finally earned her a reaction.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Ruki's voice was trembling slightly, but only ears as keen as Renamon's could have noticed it.

"I wondered what you were thinking about," Renamon repeated. "Is there something troubling you?"

Ruki seriously considered the question for a moment.

"No. Well, I don't think so. I'm not sure, actually…" She trailed off.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Renamon questioned.

Ruki turned her head and gazed up at the majestic silhouette of her digimon partner.

"You know I'd tell you anything. It's just that I can't seem to be able to pinpoint what the matter is, actually. It might have something to do with…"

She paused. Renamon immediately sat down next to her Tamer and glanced at Ruki with a benevolent smile, which implied so much friendship and care that it literally bereaved Ruki of any possible further reluctance.

"Promise you won't laugh."

She paused again.

"What am I saying? Naturally you won't. It's just a figure of speech, I guess. Alright then, to be as clear-cut as possible… actually… as a matter of fact…"

"You're not saying anything, Ruki," Renamon interrupted her stuttering, the soothing smile on her facial features still present.

"Sorry," Ruki replied with an uneasy, half-hearted smirk. "It's just that this definitely doesn't happen every day."

'For I'd be in an asylum by now if that was the case,' she added mentally.

"Anyway, fact is, it's about gogg- about Takato."

There. She had said it. Now what?

"Now what?" Renamon unknowingly echoed Ruki's last thought. "Do you… feel for him?"

"Yes," Ruki answered promptly, and instantly, her eyes widened in terror and surprise at her own statement (and, probably even more so, at its immediacy).

"I mean, no! I mean… I don't know. I like him, of course. I mean he's easily the kindest person I've ever met. Plus he's courageous if need be, persevering, caring and emotionally warm…"

"Not to mention almost outrageously handsome," Renamon interrupted.

The glare Ruki shot her partner in response could have easily cut through a diamond.

"Are you making fun of me!"

"Certainly not," Renamon answered fake-submissively. "I merely discovered that humans tend to pile up superlatives when they are… infatuated with someone. Or, as the widely known philosopher Terriermon would say: Takato and Ruki, sitting in a tree…"

"Why you little…" Ruki punched her partner in the shoulder, but it was as half-hearted as could be. Renamon was simply trying to cheer her up, and despite Ruki's fake irritation, she appreciated it immensely.

"I'm sorry," Renamon apologized. "But if it's true that you have feelings for Takato, it might be wise to tell him."

Ruki eyed the yellow _kitsune_ with a mixture of uneasiness and disbelief.

"You're kidding, right?"

Renamon's face assumed a very serious expression as she continued.

"Not at all. I know you have doubts, Ruki, but it won't help if you suppress or push aside your sentiments. Who can say what could arise from it if you told him how you feel? In any case, it's far better than keep on living in a lie. I've always admired you for your strong will, Ruki- you always give people a piece of your mind if it seems appropriate. Well, I'd say the current situation definitely qualifies as appropriate, don't you think?"

Ruki was silent. She didn't really know what to say, anyway. Thus, Renamon continued, now with a slight smile on her face.

"Besides… If it's of any help to you, I have that strange notion that the feelings might be mutual."

Gently, the fox digimon placed her right arm around her partner's shoulders.

"Either way, I'll always be there for you- even, or especially, if things go awry. But this time, I'm very sure they won't. Just give it a try. What do you have to lose?"

Ruki just stared at Renamon. A sudden rush of feelings flooded her mind, feelings like gratitude, friendship and trust. Renamon was right, after all. What DID she have to lose?

"Nothing," Ruki muttered, barely audible. Then, in a stronger voice, she repeated it.

"Nothing."

* * *

Ruki sprang to her feet, walked up to the phone, dialled the first few digits of the Matsuda's number- and hesitated. Slowly, she turned around to face Renamon, who had followed her inside. 

"Please tell me I'm doing the right thing. And don't you dare giving me that 'just listen to your heart' crap, you hear me?"

"You're doing the right thing," Renamon replied seriously. "I've never been so sure about something in my life, methinks. Apart from the moment I chose you as my Tamer, of course."

Ruki smiled, ignoring the wet shimmer in her own eyes, and dialled the remaining ciphers.

* * *

Takato Matsuda was making his way through the crowded streets and alleyways of West Shinjuku. Five minutes ago, Ruki had called him and asked him to come over to talk about "stuff". And yes, that had been her exact words. Takato wasn't sure whether he should be worried, but ultimately decided not to. Not that he didn't care for her- quite the contrary. He simply couldn't stand the idea that anything could be wrong with the girl he… 

Takato shook his head as if to dispel those thoughts in order to stay focussed on the job at hand- in this case, keep going while simultaneously resisting the temptation to break into a run. It wouldn't exactly make the best of impressions if he arrived at Ruki's panting and sweating profusely. But it was hard for him, harder than he would have imagined.

He's always had a crush on Ruki. Not that it meant much; in the past, he had also had a crush on Juri for quite some time.

'But this is different,' he thought. 'And you know it perfectly well.'

He did indeed. Ruki Makino appeared to have an icy persona only to those who didn't know her well. In fact, her strong determined attitude, her sense of loyalty, her ability to develop deep and honest friendship and her remarkable intelligence made her pretty much the most multifarious character Takato knew. Not to mention the most loveable one.

Takato groaned mentally as he thought that, yet simultaneously he knew that it was no use denying it. He cared for Ruki deeply. He had no clear idea of love, being as young as he was, but if it meant not wanting to be separated from her for a second, he apparently was in love.

"I gotta tell her," Takato muttered to himself. "I just have to, or else this is going to haunt me till I die. Well, maybe not till I die, but too long to bear. She'll quite probably be mad at me…"

Takato came to a halt as he thought that. True, there was a chance that their relationship would suffer if he actually decided to tell her about his feelings. Then again, this was threatening to simply overwhelm it, and the only way out was to rush forwards.

"If you already know what you have to do, reluctance is always a mistake, I guess…"

* * *

He had made his decision. Naturally he could just try to push the feelings aside, hoping that they would go away eventually. But that wouldn't be fair, neither for him nor for Ruki. 

"Come on, you stupid gogglehead," Takato murmured. "Have some faith."

Yes. He would. He had to. There was too much depending on it; for example, his peace of mind.

* * *

A righteously nervous Ruki was standing in the doorframe of the main entrance of the Makino residence. Rumiko was at work, apparently doing a new photo session for the latest edition of a fashion catalogue, while Seiko was presumably at the grocery store. 

"There he is," Renamon commented as Takato came to a halt right in front of the house. "I'll leave the two of you alone for now."

Instead of answering verbally, Ruki gave her partner a grateful look, just as Renamon phased out of visibility. Ruki averted her glance back to Takato, who seemed to have his eyes closed. Judging from the look on his face, he was concentrating intensively on something. Ruki wondered what it was, but eventually decided to address him. She couldn't really talk to him if he kept standing on the street forever. And she had to talk to him- she knew that much.

* * *

"Hey, Gogglehead! Are you coming, or will you be staring at the fence for the rest of the day?" 

Takato's head whirled around to where the voice came from, only to behold a certain redhead showing a cruelly wide grin. Being so lost in his introspections, he hadn't even noticed that he had already arrived at Ruki's. Blushing slightly, he made his way toward the house.

"I'm sorry," he uttered upon coming to a halt in front of Ruki. "It's just that I was, uh…"

"Knock it off," Ruki snapped, but her voice was definitely lacking the sharp undertone that you could have expected from the statement. "Just come on in while we're still young."

She was doing her best to play her angry Ruki role, simply because she was so used to it, but this time failed horribly. So she eventually decided to give him a slight smile as she led him to the porch where she sat down and waited until he had accommodated himself next to her.

"So," Takato started, "what's up?"

"Nothing much, actually," Ruki answered, not exactly truthfully. "Well, or maybe. It's… I don't know how to say this."

Takato nodded understandingly. He knew how she was feeling. If only his stupid heart would stop beating at a thousand miles per minute.

"Actually I don't really know why I called you," Ruki lied shamelessly. "Maybe because Mom isn't around. Again. It's getting kinda boring, you know, and you're not half as bad as all the other losers I know. Maybe apart from brainiac or Juri. Ah hell, what am I babbling…"

Takato smiled, deciding not to pay too much heed to what supposedly was Ruki's idea of a compliment, even though his heart had by now definitely switched to the next-highest gear.

"Well, your mom is a very busy woman, I guess. She chose a path that allows her to make full use of her beauty, and she certainly is a very beautiful woman. Just…"

'Dun dun dun! Now or never, eh?' Takato's mind chimed in, and the brown-haired boy was somewhat pissed at the stupid interruption. Then again, his easy-going, joking attitude was inarguably a part of his personality; the very same personality which felt itself connected to Ruki that much.

'Alright… here goes…'

* * *

"Just… just not as beautiful as you, of course…" 

Ruki stared at Takato in pure and utter astonishment.

'Well, at least I haven't been swallowed by an earth fissure just yet,' Takato thought with a pinch of gallows humour.

Ruki looked at Takato with her eyes impossibly wide; and the wet shimmer in those enchanting purple orbs only added to her beauty.

"Takato… do you mean that?"

Takato nodded approvingly.

"Yeah. I'm sorry if I made you mad. It's just… you know… you mean so much to me. More than you could ever know. I know you'll probably be even madder at me for this, but…"

He inhaled audibly before he continued, "I like you. A lot, actually. And…"

That's as far as he could get, before he felt Ruki's tender lips gently touching his own. It was indescribable, even if his brain hadn't been in a state of turmoil. So he could do nothing but merely enjoy the incredible feeling. If there was a heaven, this was quite probably what it felt like.

Ruki pulled away (far too quickly according to both Takato and herself), and couldn't help but blush furiously. This was definitely _not_ the way she had intended to confess. Then again, can you really plan _anything_ when it comes to love? It's like a heavy gale, carrying you away.

Takato licked his lips nervously. He had no idea what he was supposed to say or do now, so, playing for time, he simply asked the first question that popped into his head.

"So… uh, will you now tell me why you called me over…?"

Ruki showed a shy smile- something Takato would never have expected from her. Then again, he wouldn't ever have expected her to kiss him, either.

"I just did, I think," Ruki finally responded.

"Ruki…" Takato whispered incredulously. "I had no idea…"

"Of course not," Ruki retorted. "It's hard for me to believe, too. But, much to my dismay, it looks like it can't be helped."

She was joking, obviously, and thus Takato didn't feel awkward to break into the widest smile of his entire life. Ruki returned it, and, carefully, placed her head on Takato's right shoulder.

Surprised by his own courage, Takato seized her left hand with his right and squeezed it gently. The warmth radiating from her body was incredibly soothing, the fragrance of her hair was intoxicating, and overall, she was pretty much the most beautiful girl he could imagine. He now knew for sure that he loved her dearly, and he wouldn't ever let her go again.

"So… Does that mean that you… me… I mean, the two of us…"

"Yes," Ruki muttered as if that would be an actual answer to his 'question', while a few tears, indicating joy of a long-forgotten intensity, trickled down her face.

"Yes," she repeated. "The two of us."

Takato looked down at her and, daring as he was, placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Considering her current position, this caused her hair to slightly tickle his chin, but he didn't mind. It was a tickle from Elysium.

Ruki just let out a happy sigh as she felt Takato's lips faintly touch her skin and held his hand even tighter, intertwining her fingers with his. She felt incredibly safe, for she knew that she could trust Takato with all her heart. She loved him, and she knew it, and, perhaps for the first time in her life, everything was perfect.

Somewhere in the distance, a sparrow was chirping.

** OWARI **


End file.
